I will update an announcement soon. This has been a fun trip back into my passion. I have deliberately stayed away from social media until I was ready to re-engage with all of you. Stay tuned. This will be FUN!

I was tasked with two managing two locations in two states. I was as the main contact for an international 3PL managing 300+ employees. I began with one site in Illinois and my responsibilities grew to serve that client in Illinois as well as Iowa. In less than one year, and with the assistance of one recruiter that I trained, I was able to change the tone on site and bring the quality of hires up while also lowering turnover. When I assumed the role there was a 68% 90-day fall off rate. Withinless than 6 months of management that fall off rate was in the single digits. This was a true full cycle position. The Iowa and Illinois locations functioned 95% autonomously with administrative payroll support and insurance processing coming from the corporate office. I was responsible for marketing, hiring, terminations, safety inspections, accident reports, unemployment hearings, client relations, time reporting, EEO compliance.... and all of the typical HR duties of an independent office. I will always credit this company for teaching me what hard work - and a lot of work - will enable you to do.

I recruited at the NRC (National Recruiting Center) supporting branch offices across the country. With over 1200 offices nationwide to support, I had the opportunity to meet and connect with people in a variety of industries. This position has been a great opportunity to support clients of all kinds in some very unique positions.I began this position supporting temp positions that were "hard fills" for local offices across the country. Quickly my role changed to supporting senior level positions and direct hire roles in nearly every industry. My background allowed me the flexibility to be effective in legal, engineering, sales and other "hard to find" situations. From a temp/temp-to-hire capacity supporting existing business, I moved to supporting direct hire contacts that had been booked by local offices. Over the course of the next year, I formed a break away department where I held down a full desk as well as providing split support for direct hire positions needing a very unique skill set.

I believe that many people have taken a career detour at least once. I grew up in a small business and took those skills to start my own company after the civilian contract for military recruiting was ended by the DOD. Have you seen the local school stickers on the back windows of vehicles? Those are the kinds of decals I started with. I expanded into custom vinyl graphics and wraps on cars, signs, banners, or any other flat surface.Although I have not worked this company as a day-to-day full-time position since December 2010, and my first priority is recruiting, I do still do wraps and decals upon specific request. I have come to think of this as a great second self-employed job. I am able to be productive but also have a completely different diversion that allows me to unwind.

I was a contracted military recruiter. We were an experiment to see if civilian recruiters were more effective than a "green suit" option in the market. I will say that this position was probably one of the most frustrating/rewarding/amazing positions I have held. I was able to not only place enlisted and officers into positions where they could achieve their goals, I learned more from my leadership and colleagues than I could have ever imagined. Being a USAREC recruiter is definitely not easy - but the connections and impact that I had/have is something I will never forget.U.S. Army Recruiter - 3 Company - Collinsvile, Fairview Heights, Columbia, Alton

Advocacy and support has always been a passion. While living in Germany, I had the opportunity to support a number of soldiers, civilians and their families. I enjoyed the time in Germany immensely and still maintain connections and friendships with those I worked with/for.

I had two main roles in Germany - one was supporting the 723rd - the other was supporting deaf and hard of hearing family members in USAFE/USAREUR as a whole. Thanks to my team and the dedication they showed, we were able to make some amazing changes to the level/kind of support that was provided to EFMP family members. If you have never had a deaf friend or colleague, you can only imagine the obstacles that are in place especially living overseas

For nearly three years I had the opportunity to lead a dedicated group of volunteers, counselors, and others in various advocacy positions. As many of you know, the needs of a military family can range from the typical day-to-day problems to some more unique challenges. My duties ranged in scope from managing the books for the 501(c)3 to speaking in front of groups as large as 5,000. The lessons I learned in this position started me off with a great toolbox for my future work supporting the members of the military and their families.